When the road becomes slippery, and your car loses traction, it can cause your nerves to become jangled, and seeing those flashing traction lights doesn’t help either.
Your traction control system is designed to help you avoid losing control of your vehicle. However, if you feel something is wrong with your traction control lights, here are the things I discovered that you could investigate!
Why Is My Traction Control Light On?
1. Faulty Wheel Speed Sensors
Traction control helps you maintain reasonable control of your car in extreme conditions by adjusting the engine power to match the available traction.
Furthermore, it can be activated by detecting an imbalance between the amount of pressure on the front and rear tires.
Overall, if the wheel speed sensor isn’t responding appropriately, it will cause your traction light to flicker!
2. Limp Mode Activated
A car’s limp mode security feature activates when the engine control unit detects a malfunction.
As well as that, the limp mode is managed by the vehicle’s computer, which receives signals from all the different sections of the car.
Due to this, the dashboard typically glows when a car activates into limp mode. If this is the case, you’ll need to reset your car’s computer!
3. Extreme Road Conditions
Your vehicle’s traction control system might not be able to handle it if the road conditions are too bad.
Eventually, your traction control light is a warning that you’re driving too hard in these circumstances.
Under those circumstances, if your traction control light is on, slow down! It means your car isn’t handling well under extreme road settings!
4. Defective Steering Angle Sensor
A steering angle sensor is a small device inside your car’s steering wheel that functions on how much you turn your wheel on the road.
Apart from this, these signals are used to adjust the amount of power going to your wheels so that they can respond accurately to changes in direction.
In the event of a defective steering angle sensor, the ECM (Electronic Control Module) warns your engine to cut off power to the wheels so they don’t spin as fast.
For that reason, you can anticipate that the traction control light will glow if the sensor malfunctions!
5. Broken Steering Rack
If your traction control light is on, it’s a sign that your steering rack is broken. This can happen if you hit something hard enough to damage the steering gear.
In such cases, if the steering rack is damaged, it can cause the vehicle to feel like it wants to stop or go in the wrong direction.
Over time, it can result from age, wear and tear, loose tie rod, bent ball joints, or worn-out shocks.
Therefore, driving your car on a rocky road will be more difficult if your steering rack is destroyed. Hence, your traction control light may reflect as a warning!
6. Vehicle System Program Errors
A vehicle control system uses control surfaces to modify and maintain a vehicle’s altitude, heading, and speed in response to signals from a guidance system.
In line with this, your traction control light may be on because of a system program error. It can happen with any computer, but it’s more common in newer vehicles.
This is why it’s essential to keep an eye on the traction control light and take care of any program inaccuracy as soon as possible!
7. Manual Override Engagement
If your traction control light is on, it’s likely because you’ve engaged the manual override system. This system allows you to bypass your automatic driving aids and engage them manually.
Along with this, it is useful when you’re in a situation where you need to be able to make quick changes in how much power you’re applying to the wheels.
However, this warning light doesn’t mean anything wrong has happened; it could just mean that you have been hooked with a manual transmission!
8. Traction Control Hard Coded System
If your traction control light is on, it could indicate that your vehicle’s traction control system has degraded.
As you can see, some sensors are covered with road grime or debris. As a result, these sensors can become filthy and stop operating correctly.
As an outcome, you may notice this when driving. Your car will begin to jerk back and forth as if it has lost its grip on the road!
9. Control Module Complications
Wheel spin can be avoided in slick, icy, and snowy situations by using the traction control module’s (TCM) capacity to apply brakes to specific tires.
In most cases, if one or more sensor values suggest a speed higher than the vehicle’s actual speed, the module will signify lost traction.
Above all, an illuminated warning signal light is the most typical symptom of a failed traction control module!
10. Electrical Circuit Glitch
Another possibility is that your traction control system has a glitch in the electrical circuit that controls it.
As well as that, it can happen if you have an issue with your battery, which can cause all sorts of problems for your car’s electrical system.
Due to the fact, a loose connection on your electrical wirings is the reason for the traction control light to beam!
11. Hydraulic Systems Failure
A vital part of an anti-lock braking system is the hydraulic electronic control unit or HECU controller. Through a brake hose, it is connected to each wheel’s drag wheel cylinder.
Also, HECUs are responsible for controlling the amount of pressure applied to each tire to prevent skids and keep you from losing control of your vehicle.
As an effect, a faulty HECU may trigger that something is wrong with your fluid levels that cause your traction light to flicker!
To know more, you can also read our posts on why your dashboard warning lights are on, why your brake lights come on while driving, and why your Abs light is on.
Conclusion
Your traction control system is responsible for maintaining your vehicle’s stability at all times, which is why keeping your tires in good shape can be so important.
As demonstrated, if the traction control light is flashing, it can be from a broken wheel speed sensor, limp mode, or bad road condition.
Ultimately, avoid driving on dusty roads and try not to move too fast. This will help keep your TC system functioning accurately!